The Political Landscape Since The Election
One month after the election, a lot has changed. President Bush’s approval ratings have risen nicely. According to realclearpolitics.com, Bush’s approval rating has gone from 49% to 53-55% depending on the poll; his 47% disapproval rating has fallen to 43% or less.
Bush has laid out his agenda for the second term. He wants to reform Social Security, simplify the tax code, make his earlier tax cuts permanent and enact serious tort reform. These are huge issues. Add to that an extension of the No Child Left Behind education reform, a comprehensive energy plan and immigration reforms. He also says he intends to cut the budget deficit in half.
“Bush has the most aggressive second-term agenda” in modern history, says Dan Mitchell of the Heritage Foundation. It will be interesting to see how much of this he can get accomplished in his first two years. Typically, not much happens in the last two years of a second term.
The Democrats are still reeling from the defeat in November. A very few in the party understand why they lost so badly this time. James Carville gets it, but most Democrats refuse to accept that most of this country is conservative, and that homeland security is the top issue. And many still don’t realize that the “Hate Bush” 527s and the ultra-liberal likes of Michael Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, et al actually hurt Kerry in the end.
Talk of Hillary Clinton being the Dem’s nominee in 2008 has only accelerated since the election. Assuming she is re-elected to the Senate in 2006 (a good bet), I don’t see anyone stopping her for a run at the White House. Some Republicans believe Hillary is unelectable, while others are scared to death. There is no slam-dunk Republican candidate for ’08, and this is troublesome. John McCain is not the answer, in my opinion.
Stocks Sprint To Three-Year Highs, Oil Plunges
On the financial front, stocks have rallied to a three-year high since the election. On September 7, September 28 and October 19 in these pages, I recommended that readers move to a fully invested position in stocks and/or mutual funds. The markets bottomed in late October and have gone nearly straight up since. The S&P 500 has climbed over 9% since the low.
Oil prices plunged from above $55 per barrel to $42 as of last week. In the September 28 issue of this E-Letter, when oil first surged above $50, I predicted that once the supply lines got back to normal following the hurricanes, oil prices would retreat to the $35-$40 range. I still believe that can happen, barring any major new developments.
That’s all for this week. Gotta do some Christmas shopping
SPECIAL ARTICLES
Senator Norm Coleman: “Kofi Annan must go.”
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110005966
Scandal over Kojo Annan (Kofi’s son) deepens.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/.../28/2003212917
A good review of the UN’s failures over the years.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editor...l?id=110005992